Embodiments are directed to methods and systems for evaluating the solid particle separation of wellbore fluids, and more particularly, embodiments disclose using turbidimetry to measure the separation of solids from wellbore fluids as the wellbore fluids flow across porous media.
Solid removal processes and solids control systems may be an important aspect of wellbore fluid treatment. For example, the removal of solids from drilling fluids may be important to maintain the integrity of the fluid. If solids are not sufficiently removed from the drilling fluid, the amount of drilling fluid that may be reused may be reduced, resulting in additional operations expenditures. Further, higher than normal concentrations of solids in wellbore fluids may require additional amounts of said wellbore fluids to dilute the solids so that they do not impact wellbore operations. The need for additional amounts of wellbore fluids may also result in additional operations expenditures.
For fine suspended solids, which may be too small for separation with gravitational or centrifugal methods, a barrier method such as a filter may be used for solids removal. When using a filter, a filter cake, with increasing thickness, may be formed on the face of the filter over time. Generally, the removal of solids or the formation of a filter cake may be measured through the monitoring of the pressure-flow characteristics of the wellbore fluid. However, this evaluation requires may require calculation and calibration of the pressure and flow rate, and thus the dynamics of filter cake formation cannot be studied directly. Further, gathering feedback from this process to alter upstream and downstream operations may require more additional time and, thus, additional expense. Additionally, the above methods may be subject to uncontrollable variables that may distort estimates and calculations and lead to incorrect regulation of upstream and downstream operations.